The Lion With The Rabbit Heart
by Xynn
Summary: After the war, everyone decided Hermione was useless. The only thing she was needed for were her book-smarts. But now, her factoids are just annoying. People use her because she loves to help people. She's stuck in a loveless relationship, as well. To everyone else, she's a pushover, but to her new friend, Draco Malfoy, she's just a lion in rabbit's clothing. Songfic: Rabbit Heart.
1. Pilot

**This was so spontaneous, it's not even funny. This hit me in the middle of High School orientation, and I sat there with a dazed expression on my face the whole time, trying to get details correct. Now, if it wasn't clear from my previous story (or stories? depends.) this will be a Dramione, and a badass one at that.**

**Full Summary: **After the war, everyone decided Hermione Granger was useless. During the war, the only thing she was needed for were her book-smarts. But now, her factoids are just annoying. People use her because she loves to help people. She's stuck in a loveless relationship, as well. To everyone else, she's a pushover, but to her new friend, Draco Malfoy, she's just a lion in rabbit's clothing. And he is determined to bring the lion out in her. Or maybe the snake. Either would be fine. A fic inspired by: _Rabbit Heart by Florence + The Machine._

_The Lion With The Rabbit Heart - Pilot_

"Hermione, hurry your slow ass up!" Ginny screamed. Hermione sighed once more and hoisted the huge box in her hands for the fifth time. As she walked up the stairs, her foot missed a step and she tripped wincing as she heard a loud snap and an agonising pain shot up her leg. The new Mrs. Potter stomped down the stairs and balked at the sight.

"You broke all of my bathroom decorations! Get out! GET OUT!" She screamed. Hermione nodded quickly and stood up, ignoring the searing pain in her leg. She needed to get to work anyways. She latched onto the fireplace's mantle as she grabbed a handful of Floo powder.

"Ministry of Magic!" She yelled, falling into the flames. She collapsed on the dirty floor of the Ministry, and it didn't look like anyone would help her. She gripped a fireplace's mantle yet again and reached for her wand. Muttering a quick spell to put a splint on her leg, she limped purposefully to her office. When she left Hogwarts, she'd taken the safe route and took up a job with Harry and Ron as Aurors, but only did the paperwork part of it. She collapsed in her chair and dialed the number of her partner.

"Did you forget about our meeting?" The male's voice asked.

"Yes, I did. You just reminded me. I'm not going to make it." Hermione replied.

"You're only five minutes late, Maia. You can still make it." He soothed.

"No, I can't. I just snapped my leg in half at Ginny's house and I'm not going to try to use a myriad of spells to fix it. Either your mother comes here, or you're coming to get me." She snapped back.

"Alright, alright. I'm on my way. Are you in your office?" He asked.

"No, I'm riding a camel in the Sahara. Of course I'm in my office!" She replied exasperatedly. A small chuckle came out of her when she heard the dial tone. He didn't like it when she used sarcasm, because "it was his thing." A few minutes later, the door opened and Draco Malfoy's tall frame filled the doorway.

"Let's go, Granger. Malfoys don't like to wait." He said, walking over to her and wrapping her arm around his neck so he could support her.

"Yeah, but Narcissa's a Black, so she won't mind." She said, a grin on her face that left as soon as it came. Harry and Ron had just come back from their mission and they had a ton of papers in their hands.

"'Mione, go do this. I'm going out with 'Arry tonight and I don't feel like doing it." Ron said, shoving the papers into her chest. She grabbed them before they floated away.

"Yeah, and be more careful, you klutz. Gin's furious at what you did." Harry muttered, tossing the papers at her. Not thinking, she released her grip on Draco and fell down to pick the papers up.

"I'll go do them now, and I'm sorry about-" Her reply was interrupted by Draco.

"No, Granger, we have to go." He said, taking her arm and putting it around his neck again.

"But Malfoy-" She started.

"Don't _'But'_ me, Granger. Mother's been waiting for about ten minutes now, and she'll end up deciding it all by herself." Draco said with finality.

"You're mother's terrible at decisions though, Malfoy. I mean, look who she ended up marrying. A coward. I mean, I'd rather serve the life sentence in Azkaban than do what that man did." Ron commented with a smirk.

"Don't you dare talk about cowards, Weasley. Didn't the twins _Avada _themselves because they thought Voldemort would win?" Fred and George _had _given themselves the Killing Curse because they thought that Harry had died.

"Don't talk about my family, you-" Ron started.

"Then don't talk about mine." Draco finished, dragging Hermione to a fireplace and grabbing some Floo powder.

"Malfoy Manor!" He yelled, stepping into the emerald flames and stepping out into his mother's sitting room. She looked up from her papers and smiled, but then gave them a slight frown.

"Maia, dear, what happened!?" She asked worriedly.

"Nothing much. I tripped down the stairs and broke my leg. Not that anyone cares." Hermione replied nonchalantly.

"Oh sit down. I'll get you a potion and I'll fix that leg right up. Draco, you're a healer, why didn't you fix it?" Narcissa inquired.

"She didn't want to mess with it. I mean, Lockhart thought he was fixing Harry's arm in Second year, and ended up taking all the bones out of it. I see her reasoning." Her son replied, seating Hermione and then relaxing right next to her. The older woman left the room and came back a few minutes later, with a Pain Relief Potion and her wand in hand. She mumbled something and the bones in Hermione's leg began setting and rearranging themselves. Painfully. Narcissa gave her the potion and she downed it quickly. She smiled lazily and blinked as the pain faded.

"Good, now you can help me prepare the ball." Narcissa said with a clap of her hands.

"So, correct me if I'm wrong, it's a ball to, er, 'restore the Malfoy name', right?" Hermione asked.

"Not restore, dear, just show off. How the war didn't put a dent in our lavish pastimes. Even if it's only been about two years. You're coming, aren't you, dear?" The woman asked, arching her brow, much like her son.

"Of course, Narcissa. I wouldn't miss it." The younger witch said with a smile. "How is it that you're just planning it, but it's this weekend?" She asked.

"Oh, it won't take long. I have so many lights and sculptures in storage. All I need to actually hire are caterers and musicians." The hostess replied. "And people are used to me time crunching. I planned Draco's birthday party a day before, last year." She finished. Hermoine hid a smile behind her hand before nodding. They sat there for about two hours before Hermione's cellphone rang. She saw the name and wanted to die a little inside.

"Yes, Ron?" She asked sweetly.

"Where the hell are you!? I asked you to do paperwork, didn't I? COME BACK RIGHT NOW!" Ron roared.

"Of course, love...I'm on my way...No, don't yell at me..._please_.." She mumbled all this while stumbling towards the fireplace. She looked close to tears as she flooed to the Ministry.

"Draco. Look out for her, will you?" Narcissa asked, turning to her only son.

"I already do, mum. She just doesn't know it." He replied, brushing a kiss upon his mother's forehead.

* * *

"YOU WERE WITH THAT PRICK, WEREN'T YOU!?" Ron yelled. Hermione whispered a little as she scribbled something on her document. "ANSWER ME!" He screamed again.

"Y-y-yes. We were-" "I TOLD YOU NOT TO SEE HIM AGAIN, DIDN'T I!?" The yelling was pounding her head in.

"Ye-yes. I'm so-sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?" Inside, she hated herself for saying that. She already knew what was coming.

"You already know what'll make me happy. Take your clothes off." He said, before taking her by the hair and dragging her to her bedroom. With quivering limbs, she undressed and stood there, the blur of tears helping her not see what was coming, even though she'd be able to feel it.

Excruciating pain in her lower regions. And a sharp prick on her chest. She felt something wet drip down her neck, and she realised it was her own tears. As she tried to wipe them away, Ron began nipping at her neck, and bit down on one of her fingers, hard. Blood dripped down her arm and dripped from her elbow. She stood in that position for the rest of Ron's assault, and when he finished, there was a small pool soaked into the pristine white rug of her room. He dragged her to the bed and she once again felt the pain between her legs. She hissed as his nails scratched at her stomach and she felt her skin open a bit. He finally finished and once she was sure he was asleep, she ran into her bathroom and shut the door, muttering a quick (and intricate) locking spell. She collapsed into the bathtub and watched, entranced, at her own blood, which ran down her body to the stopper at the end of the tub. Shaking her head, she reached to turn on the faucet and thought the better of it. She stood up on the edges of the tub and nearly broke a hip as she touched a secret panel in the corner of the ceiling. Her hand-print burned in the plaster before it faded. She reached in and felt around, silently praising herself when she found her backup wand.

Sitting back in the tub, she shot an _Aguamenti_ on herself, thoroughly cleaning herself, before casting an _Episkey _on her elbow and stomach. She quickly wrapped those in gauze and exited the bathroom. Even though she was a wizard, she preferred most cuts and scrapes healed themselves. If it was something drastic like a knife cut, she'd heal it immediately, but trivial things like a scratch would heal in a few days. She rummaged through her closet, making sure not to make noise, and grabbed a loose white tee, a pair of grey jogging pants and some socks. She padded into the living room and sighed. There was a knock on the door and she ran for it, not wanting the noise to wake Ron up. Opening it, she found her snotty neighbor, Tiara, with a box of papers. Like, a moving box just filled to the brim with them.

"Hi, Hermione. Ron said you would finish the rest of my Ministry papers for me. It's so nice to do this for your roommate's girlfriend! You better not make any moves on him, though. He. Is. _Mine_." She blue-eyed blond threatened. Hermione squeaked and nodded. The girl shoved the box into her hands and shoved past her to Ron, who had appeared in the living room, fully dressed with a smile to match.

"Tia! Hey babe, you ready?" He asked, putting his hand on the small of her back and guiding her out of the flat. "See ya, 'Mione." He called, before closing the door. With a yawn, she picked the boxed up and finished her work. It was gonna be a long night.

**A/N: I thought I would just give you guys the pleasant side of PostWar!RabbitHeart!Hermione. I like that term. "RabbitHeart!Hermione", it shows the side of Hermione that's desperate to help people, especially the people she loves. Even if they don't love them back. Honestly, Florence + the Machine songs can narrate this entire story, though. I may name special chapters after her songs, but we'll see. Until next time!**

**Next Chapter: **We may or may not receive a visit from Draco's dear 'love', Pansy. (Who's still a right maneater, if I say so myself.) And she'll probably meet up with Hermione, too. Uh-oh.

**~Xynn**


	2. Running Around

**Woooooot. We're doing this. WE. ARE. DOING. THIS. (I have to motivate myself constantly.)**

**Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Harry Potter. But I'm still trying to figure out J.K.'s phone number and email address password. Any day now, my black market friend..**

_The Lion With The Rabbit Heart - Running Around_

"Granger. Wake up." A hushed voice muttered.

"Five more minutes, daddy. I don't like grandmum, anyways." Hermione mumbled sleepily.

"_Maia_. Wake _up_." Draco mumbled, shaking her shoulder now. She was sprawled out on her desk at the Ministry. Yes, literally sprawled out. Her head was on one end of the table, and her feet were on the other. The shaking had caused her to roll to the side and she landed ungracefully on the hard floor.

"OW!" She shrieked, shooting up and holding the edge of the desk for support. _Standing up too fast causes dizziness, _she remembered.

"Finally, you're up. Where'd all this paperwork come from?" He asked skeptically.

"Where the hell do you think it came from?" She snapped, her calm demeanor replaced by a scowl. A light chuckle came from Draco and he nodded.

"Glad to see you're back to your somewhat normal self. You want a cup of tea?" He asked, arching his brow.

"No. I want some coffee. And a hell of a lot of Firewhiskey. STAT." She replied, collapsing in her chair and turning to him. "Ronald was out with is whore of a girlfriend, so I decided to come here to finish my paperwork. He doesn't like it when he comes home to find me cockblocking him, apparently." She mumbled with a stretch, but winced halfway through. A bit of her shirt rode up and the Ace bandage wrapped around her torso didn't go unnoticed by Draco.

"You managed to finish your work, Potty's work, _and _Weasel's work? That's...astonishing. I'll be back with the coffee, _sans _the liquor." He said, before turning and leaving the room. She stood up and arranged the work into three different piles, choosing to forget about the big box of files in the corner of her office. She quickly dropped Harry's and Ron's work on their desks and decided to change out of the sweatpants and shirt the was in. She locked the door and changed into a white sundress with spaghetti straps and pulled on a pair of white strappy sandals. She wasn't planning on leaving the office much, so she dressed casual. Since it was earlier than most people would be arriving at the Ministry, she stopped at the bathroom to freshen up for a few minutes. When she was done, she was nearing her office and heard something shatter against one of the walls behind her door. Opening it, she discovered Pansy Parkinson ready to throw another one of her mother's animated collectibles that were seated on her desk.

"No! Stop it, you tart!" Hermione screamed, running over to the dark-haired girl and snatching the scared little figurine. She sat it back down and shoved Pansy from behind her desk.

"You have no right to touch me, you _mudblood_!" Pansy hissed.

"In my office, I do! What the hell are you doing here!?" Hermione yelled back. That old word didn't even phase her anymore. She'd grown immune to it. Pansy was silent for a moment before motioning to her office.

"So..this isn't Drake's office?" She asked. Hermione shook her head. "Well then, where is he?" Pansy asked again.

"I don't know." Hermione said, as she had a feeling Draco didn't want Pansy to find him, much less at work. Suddenly, one of the figurines shattered on the spot.

"Wrong answer." Pansy said, waving her wand around.

"I dunno where he went, you insane woman!" Hermione screamed pleadingly. Another dead figurine.

"Bzzzt. Next contestant, please." Pansy said again.

Hermione waved her hand as one would when they had a wand, and Pansy was petrified. Literally. Hermione had cast a non-verbal _Petrificus Totalus _on the young woman. She unstrapped her wand from her thigh and repaired her collectibles. As she tucked it back into the holster tied to her leg, she let out a frustrated scream. Her door slammed open and a concerned Draco appeared.

"Why scream if you're not in trouble, woman!...Is that Pansy?" He said, pointing to Hermione's new decoration.

"Yes, it is. I was thinking of turning her into glass, shrinking her like my figurines, throwing her to the wall like she did mine, and then repairing her. But then again, there would be no life essence in her." Hermione said, releasing the spell on Pansy. Before Draco or Hermione could do anything, Pansy had cast three different spells Hermione's way. Her legs locked together, she felt her teeth growing (again) and she suddenly found herself on the floor.

"Don't stand there! Get her wand, you prat!" She yelled. He (finally) seemed to get the message and quickly jerked the wand from the girl's hand. With a sigh, Hermione again unsheathed her wand to perform the countercurses on herself.

"_Densaugeo_, _Impedimenta_ and _Locomotor Motis_. Jinxes all favoured by me. Have you learned _anything _else, Pansy?" Draco asked, helping Hermione up when the leg-locking curse was undone.

"She wouldn't tell me where you were, so I found it fitting to use all of your curses." Pansy said simply.

"Dammit, Draco!" Hermione suddenly said. He turned to her with a raised brow. "Where's my coffee!?" She asked, quickly healing a forming bruise on her leg from the fall.

"It's right here, just calm down." He mumbled, heading out for a second. He came back with a steaming cup of coffee. Hermione took it and drank a long sip.

"Believe me when I tell you I love you so much right now." She mumbled, sitting at her desk and giving out a contented sigh. Pansy let out a strangled noise and Draco turned to her.

"What are you doing here, anyways?" He asked, furrowing his brow.

"I was looking for you because your mother needed you. She said she sent you an owl, she sent that mudblood an owl, I don't know why, and she tried to call you both over the Floo." Pansy replied uneasily.

"She sent an owl to the mudblood because I'm Draco's partner. What did she need us for?" Hermione asked, tilting her head to the side. Draco cringed at her choice of words but didn't say anything.

"The message wasn't for you, Granger, it was for Drake. She wants to know what you and Maia are wearing to the ball. You taking that Maia girl from Ravenclaw? Bold choice." Pansy said, turning to Draco.

"Hermione is Maia, Pansy. And we haven't decided. Unless..?" Draco asked, looking at Hermione, who shook her head. "We haven't decided. Do you mind playing messenger?" Draco said.

"I do for that bitch." Was all Pansy said before stalking out. A light chuckle came from Hermione as she stood up.

"Let's go then. We can't keep a Malfoy waiting, as you said." She commented, walking to the door and opening it, waiting for Draco. He pushed her out and followed her to the fireplaces. They flooed to Malfoy Manor and managed to not trip over each other. She wasn't in the sitting room, so they assumed she was either in the ballroom, or her study. They split up to check, Hermione with the study and Draco with the ballroom. She walked in the direction of the study, and sighed. She'd only been there a few times, and hoped she wouldn't get lost. She found the door she was looking for and crossed her fingers, pushing it open. Suddenly, the door slammed behind her and three doors appeared in front of her. She chose the second one and even more doors appeared. She let out another frustrated scream that echoed through the house. Draco and Narcissa began to look for it when Narcissa giggled.

"Draco, did you send her near that wretched room?" She asked.

"Oh crap. I may have." He muttered. They rushed to the enchanted room they usually stuck small children in. The room was almost like the Room of Requirement, and produced something to cure your boredom, by using your thoughts. It was in the house when they'd moved in, and never figured out how to remove it. Mostly it worked, but Hermione probably had so many things running through her brain that the room just couldn't decide what to do for her. When they got to the room, they found Hermione opening one door over and over again.

"..Maia?" Draco asked. She turned around and practically launched herself out of the room. She shut the door and leaned against it, shaking her head.

"Okay. That has to be the worst room in this house. No offence, Cissa." She said, rubbing her forehead. "Did Draco tell you we hadn't decided on what to wear? I actually have a few dresses that I can pull out of the ol' closet..." She began to ramble, running a hand through her hair.

"It's amazing how quick she can bounce back." Narcissa whispered to her son, who just nodded.

"Maia, we can go to Madam Malkin's and let Daphne and Astoria gush over you. Maybe have Ted and Blaise give you their male opinions." Draco said, stopping Hermione from going on.

"No, no! But for you, we should go to a muggle shop! I've only been once, but it was very..interesting. A woman was choosing her dress and was being a right bitch about it. She even yelled at her mum!" Hermione said, latching onto Draco's arm.

"Oh Dragon, that's a wonderful idea! You'll be the so handsome, Draco dear." Narcissa said with a smile. Draco reluctantly agreed and they made their way to the fireplace.

"I'll see you..the day after tomorrow!" Narcissa replied, and she waved to them as they flooed away. They headed back to the ministry and groaned when she heard voices coming from her office. Draco hung behind as she opened the door. She found Ron in her chair with his feet on the desk and Harry and Ginny standing off to the side, having a conversation with him.

"'Mione! Where have you been?" Ron demanded.

"I was chatting with my mum. My dad was ill and I was checking up on him." She replied quickly.

"Uh-huh. Where's the paperwork I gave you?" He asked.

"It's on your desk. Harry's is on his. Is that all?" She asked.

"No. I need you to finish up some work for me the day after tomorrow, while we're at the ball." Harry said, pulling Ginny to him.

"Uh-huh. And I'm going to need your maxi dress for the ball." Ginny said. Hermione gritted her teeth and let out a long sigh.

"Isn't there any other dress you can take, Gin? Other than the _only _dress that I'd wear in public?" She pleaded.

"Nope. I look better in that dress than you do, anyway." Ginny said.

"Of course, Ginny. But you'll need to get it altered. I'm smaller than you are." Hermione noted.

"Are you calling me fat!?" Ginny gasped.

"No, not really. You're just overreacting. Does this mean I have to buy you a new dress, Granger?" Draco asked, finally walking in.

"What are you even doing here, Malfoy!?" Ron hissed.

"I'm her partner. You know, the one that helps when she find helpless people that have been magically abused? Next question?" Draco responded.

"No, Malfoy. I can rifle through Dani's closet." Daphne Greengrass had become a good friend of Hermione's recently.

"Dani's got baby belly, Granger. She has nothing but maternity dresses. We can head to those weird muggle places, later." Draco noted.

"Fine." Hermione rolled her eyes. He grinned at her and she shoved him out of the room. She turned to the room and took in a deep breath.

"Harry, I can't do work for you because I'm going to the ball. If you give it to me after that I can do it. Now, can you please leave?" She asked. The three reluctantly left and she settled down in her chair.

This was gonna be a long ball.

**A/N: There then~. I'm trying to make all the chapter have around the same word count. That last one was 2,109 words, including the A/N. Including this A/N, this chapter is 2,167 so I guess I'm doin' good.**

**Next Time: **The Slytherin gang gets together to make Hermione get a pretty muggle dress. Weyhey!

**~Xynn**


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